Mystical systems
Baduanjin
Direct answer
Baduanjin: Baduanjin, the Eight Pieces of Brocade, is a set of eight slow qigong movements recorded in China since the Song dynasty and widely practised today.
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At a glance
- Also called
- eight pieces of brocade, ba duan jin, eight brocades qigong, eight section brocade
- Found in
- Mystical Systems
- Related
- Qi (Chi), Dantian, Tai Chi Chuan
Baduanjin, the Eight Pieces of Brocade, is a set of eight slow qigong movements recorded in China since the Song dynasty and widely practised today.
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What is Baduanjin?
Baduanjin means eight pieces of brocade: eight short movements, each repeated several times, that together are compared to a length of fine silk. The set is done standing, and there is a seated version. Each piece has a descriptive name, such as Two Hands Hold up the Heavens or Drawing the Bow to Shoot the Hawk.
Baduanjin is one of the most widely taught qigong sets because it is short, slow and needs no equipment and little room. The tradition assigns each movement a benefit to a part of the body; those assignments are the tradition's own and have not been confirmed by research.
On the tree of the hidden arts: Yoga, qigong, tai chi.
What sets Baduanjin apart
Baduanjin is the short story among qigong sets: eight movements, done in a fixed order, finished in about a quarter of an hour. That brevity is why it survived as a household exercise where longer systems stayed inside schools. It has two old lineages, a vigorous standing form and a quiet seated one done on a bed or cushion. The rhyming names of the pieces served as a memory aid, each line saying what the arms do and which organ the tradition says it serves.
- Name: ba, eight; duan, pieces; jin, brocade
- First record: Song dynasty China, twelfth century
- Legendary author: the general Yue Fei, 1103 to 1142
- Two forms: standing and seated
- Opening piece: Two Hands Hold up the Heavens
- Official status: one of four standard health qigong sets published in China in 2003
Often mistaken for something else: A tai chi form is one long flowing sequence with martial meaning; Baduanjin is eight separate exercises, each repeated on the spot.
The story behind Baduanjin
The name appears in Chinese writing of the twelfth century, in the Song dynasty. Legend credits the set to the general Yue Fei, who is said to have taught it to his soldiers, a story that later writers attached to it. In 2003 the Chinese sports authorities published a standard version as one of four official health qigong sets.
Why Baduanjin matters
Baduanjin is the set most beginners meet first, and its long written record makes it a good example of how qigong was handed down.
How to read Baduanjin
Classes teach the eight pieces in a fixed order, a few repetitions of each, as a complete short session.
Baduanjin in practice: an example
A reader looking for a first qigong practice might learn the first two pieces of Baduanjin in a class and repeat them each morning.
Where readings of Baduanjin go wrong
The movements are learned from a teacher and done within comfort; anyone with a heart, blood-pressure or joint condition asks a doctor first.
Sources and editorial method
This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Mystical Systems
- Aliases
- eight pieces of brocade, ba duan jin, eight brocades qigong, baduanjin qigong, eight section brocade
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
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Common questions
What is Baduanjin?
It is a qigong set of eight slow movements, known in English as the Eight Pieces of Brocade. It has been recorded in China since the twelfth century.
Why is it called the Eight Pieces of Brocade?
Ba means eight, duan a piece or section, and jin brocade. The name compares the eight movements to a length of precious silk.
Did General Yue Fei invent Baduanjin?
That is the legend. The set is mentioned in writing from his century, the twelfth, but the link to Yue Fei was made by later tradition and is not documented.
